As leasehold information is an important part of the home buying and selling process, and is already generally paid for and provided by the seller, we continue to believe there are considerable advantages to consumers from having leasehold information early on in the Home Information Pack.
* Please note that leasehold properties may incur additional charges which can only be assessed once contact has been made with the Vendor's Managing Agent *
The required documents for a leasehold property are:
- Home Information Pack Index
- Energy Performance Certificate
- Sale Statement
- Standard Searches
- Evidence of Title
- A copy of the Lease.
- Property Information Questionnaire
In the past the HIP would require further information, which would include service charges, ground rent and Insurance.
Since the full roll out of HIPs for all properties on the 14th December 2007, the Government have changed the regulations so all leasehold properties which are placed on the market after the 14th December will only require the Lease ~ this may change when all the regulations are reviewed in June 2008.
It is standard coveyancying practice for the seller to provide leasehold information once a sale has been agreed but before completion.
The temporary provision described above will allow this practice to continue and is intended to protect owners of leasehold properties from facing additional and unreasonable costs at the beginning of the sale process, while additional evidence is collected into the extent of this problem
Transactions involving leasehold properties are often held up be delays in obtaining leasehold information. Providing this information upfront in a HIP is intended to eliminate these delays and also help reduce the number of transactions that fall through because of the problems associated with leasehold information coming to light at a late stage.
The government are not removing the leasehold documents from the pack, instead, the government has decided to allow the provision of leasehold documents to be determined by the market.